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☆ Regional bank stocks could be a market afterthought in the week ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Scott Schnipper | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

For the immediate economic and earnings and growth outlook, it almost seems irrelevant whether regional bank stocks rally, steady or sell off more next week. Regional banks were top of mind for investors this past week, as First Republic failed , the SPDR S & P Regional Banking ETF tumbled more than 10% — twice the five-day loss in the S & P 500 Energy Index, the hardest hit S & P sector — and lenders such as PacWest Bancorp and Western Alliance Bancorp lost billions in market value. And, for all that, the S & P 500 only fell about 0.75% this week. Now the conventional wisdom on Wall Street is that regardless of how the regional bank stocks trade, it's a given that bank lending officers are going to pull in their horns and risk management desks will grow more risk averse. But stocks still face a host of issues, none of which are going away next week.

☆ This style of dividend 'aristocrat' ETF could outperform going into a recession
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

As such, we recommend buying Dividend Aristocrats, which are companies that have a long track record of increasing dividends," Senyek said. Additionally, Dividend Aristocrats' outperformance has tended to persist during the initial stages of recoveries, which also tend to be highly uncertain environments," he added. One fund that tracks the group directly is the ProShares S & P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) . Those funds have a total return of 1.7%% and 3%, respectively, so far this year. Another similar product is the iShares Core Dividend ETF (DIVB) .

☆ Yes, You Can Still Sell Your House—Maybe Even Buy One
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Justin Lahart | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PHOTO: Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesThe spring home-selling season is under way, and America’s housing market is a mess. Just not quite the mess it was at the end of last year. Last week, the National Association of Realtors reported that a seasonally adjusted 4.44 million existing (previously owned) homes were sold in March at an annual rate. That was down from February’s 4.55 million and far below the 5.69 million registered in March of 2022. Also last week, the National Association of Home Builders said that its housing-market index—a measure of builders’ views on the market—rose to 45 this month from March’s 44.

☆ Here’s how much money you'd have if you invested $1,000 in the S&P 500 a decade ago
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

During the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in 2020, billionaire and legendary investor Warren Buffett told the audience, "in my view, for most people, the best thing to do is own the S&P 500 index fund." The trick is to essentially buy all the big companies through the S&P 500 and to do it consistently and to do it in a very, very low-cost way," he told CNBC in 2017. The S&P 500 is a market index that tracks the stock performance of around 500 large-company U.S. stocks, including Amazon, Google parent company Alphabet, Meta and Visa. While the index is not immune to overall market downturns, long-term investors have historically earned a nearly 10% average annual return. Here's how much you'd have now if you'd invested $1,000 in the S&P 500 about one, five and 10 years ago:

☆ US existing home sales resume downward trend in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Last month's sales likely reflected some contracts signed in February, when mortgage rates started rising again after mostly decreasing in January. "Consumers appear to be very sensitive to changes in mortgage rates," said Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist. "The week-to-week changes in mortgage rates are having a big impact." Home resales, which account for a big chunk of U.S. housing sales, tumbled 22.0% on a year-on-year basis in March. A survey on Monday showed the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market index climbed to a seven-month high in April.

☆ Housing stocks are surging after data shows new home construction jumped in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF climbed Tuesday with shares of the country's largest home builders rising. Home construction fell 0.8% to a 1.42 million annualized rate, with a decline in construction starts of multifamily units. Despite the weakness in housing data, Bespoke outpointed that housing stocks have been rallying, pushing the ITB ETF close to 52-week highs. The ETF and housing starts data have tended to track each other over the past ten years. "They usually say the market looks six months forward, but in the case of housing stocks and housing data, recently it's been more like five," it said.

☆ US housing market stabilizing as single-family homebuilding, permits surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Summary Single-family housing starts increase 2.7% in MarchSingle-family building permits jump 4.1%Overall housing starts fall 0.8%; permits drop 8.8%WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) - U.S. single-family homebuilding increased for a second straight month in March, while permits for future construction surged, offering some glimmers of hope for the depressed housing market ahead of the busy spring selling season. The improvement in the single-family housing market segment, which was reported by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, likely reflected buyers taking advantage of a retreat in mortgage rates. A survey on Monday showed falling mortgage rates and tight supply of previously owned houses were supporting the new home market. Single-family housing starts, which account for the bulk of homebuilding, rose 2.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 861,000 units last month. Single-family housing starts dropped 27.7% on a year-on-year basis in March.

☆ US homebuilder sentiment improves further; NY state manufacturing rebounds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Other data on Monday showed manufacturing activity in New York state increased for the first time in five months. Housing and manufacturing have been hammered by the Federal Reserve's fastest interest rate hiking campaign since the 1980s. The survey's measure of current sales conditions rose two points to 51. The survey's measure of future business conditions rose to 6.6 from 2.9 in March. The capital spending index rose 3.2 points to 16.5, while the technology spending measure fell to 10.3 from 13.3 in March.

☆ Homebuilder sentiment rises in April, as builders grab near-record share of the market
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose to 45 in April, a one-point gain. Builders in the report cited a lack of listings on the resale market, which gave them an unusually strong edge. Slightly lower mortgage rates are also helping demand — though rates are still higher than they were a year ago. "Builders note that additional declines in mortgage rates, to below 6%, will price-in further demand for housing," said Alicia Huey, NAHB chairman and a custom homebuilder and developer from Birmingham, Alabama. It marked the first time both of the indicators were positive since June, when mortgage rates really took off.

The S&P 500 finished little changed Tuesday as traders digested a slew of earnings reports and their implications for the U.S. economy. Major benchmarks fluctuated as investors assessed the latest batch of key earnings reports. Despite a tough economic environment, Bank of America surpassed first-quarter expectations on the top and bottom lines as rates rose. Despite Tuesday's moves, and expectations for declining profits against a backdrop of persistent inflation and rising interest rates, earnings season has so far proven resilient. Earnings season presses on after the bell with results from United Airlines and streaming giant Netflix .

☆ Morning Bid: Banks calm the horses
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

As U.S. banking giants calm the horses, global investors are now concentrated on world growth and earnings signals more than interest rate rises for direction - with an assumption the latter are near an end anyway. Somewhat relieved analysts marginally brightened their dim outlook for first-quarter U.S. results compared with a week ago. Futures markets now see a more than 80% chance the Fed will execute one final quarter point rate rise next month - reversing it by September. That rate rise would bring the real Fed policy rate - adjusted by headline consumer price inflation - into positive territory for the first time in three years. The dollar extended Friday's rebound as the May rate rise pricing hardened.

☆ Top chart analyst sees trouble ahead for this retail bellwether beating the market
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Sean Conlon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Trouble may be in store for Walmart — a stock which has been outperforming the major market indexes. Worth sees particular trouble ahead for the stock at $140 level. "The P/E is high-ish, but it's actually not quite as high as it seems because they've been spending, spending, spending," she said. Retail sales recorded a 1% drop in March — a bigger drop than Wall Street was expecting. Walmart shares fell almost 2% last week, but they're up about 5% so far this year.

☆ Earnings from Club consumer, health and bank stocks will be our main focus in the week ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Corporate earnings won't have to share the spotlight with major inflation data in the week ahead as they did during this past week's up-and-down market. From Morgan Stanley, we suspect Friday's bank earnings foreshadow a good release. This past week, we spoke about the importance of listening to what industry players aside from those you're invested in as a way to analyze the competitive landscape. Here are some of those other earnings reports and the economic numbers out in the week ahead. Club trades of the week We made just one trade this past week, in a market that was overbought , purchasing 25 shares of Palo Alto Networks (PANW).

☆ Next week's stock market moves hinge on the longer-term outlook for earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Scott Schnipper | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Next week's market action could be dictated by how well the latest quarterly reports from corporate America are received. Expectations about the immediate earnings outlook have been down for so long, the actual numbers themselves could look like up to investors. Earnings for all financials in the S & P 500 are actually expected to expand in the first quarter by 4.3%. ET: NAHB Housing Market Index (April) Earnings: Charles Schwab, M & T Bank, State Street, J.B. Hunt Transport Tuesday 8:30 a.m. ET: Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker speaks on the economic outlook Earnings: AT & T, American Express, D.R.

As another earnings season picks up, Bank of America says investors may find upside opportunities in certain underowned stocks that could beat expectations. The SPDR S & P Regional Banking ETF has tumbled 27.1% so far this year. Medical device maker Resmed also made the list, with a z-score of 0.8 and relative weight value of 0.1. The stock's relative weight in fund holdings versus the broad market index is 0.1. The Bermuda-based insurance group's relative weight in active fund holdings, versus the S & P 500, is 0.6.

☆ If it's the start of a new bull market, CFOs aren't buying it
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Even fewer CFOs this quarter rate the chances of a new high in the Dow (under 15%) as being more likely than a fall back below 30,000 (57%) of CFOs. There was elevated uncertainty within this C-suite group versus the prior quarterly survey, with nearly one-third saying they don't have conviction about the next trend in stocks. In the previous survey, CFOs were evenly split — roughly 40% in each camp — on whether the recession would begin during the first half or second half of this year. More CFOs believe inflation has peaked – that finding has moved higher across three consecutive quarterly surveys, from under 50% to roughly 75% now. More than half of CFOs predict that inflation will not return to 2% until 2025.

☆ These S&P 500 stocks crushed it in the first quarter. Here's where analysts see them going
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The S & P 500 just wrapped up a wild first quarter with surprisingly strong results. The tech and communication services sectors powered the S & P 500 higher, rising more than 20% each. Here are the 10 best S & P 500 stocks for the first quarter, and where analysts see them going based on the implied upside (or downside) to their average price targets. Nvidia led the way higher among S & P 500 stocks, surging 90.1%. As for Catalent, analysts see the stock rallying 24.5% after surging 46% in the first quarter.

☆ This last-minute move could cut your tax bill—but also cost you thousands as an investor
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Ryan Ermey | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

And in some cases, for tax purposes, the government is happy to let you put things off. You still have until Tax Day — April 18 this year — to make contributions to a traditional or Roth individual retirement account for tax year 2022. Each year, you have about a 16-month window to invest in an IRA — from January 1 until Tax Day the following calendar year. After 10 years, the January investor's portfolio would be worth about $6,500 more than the April investor. The January investor will have amassed about $358,000, compared with about $319,000 for the April investor.

☆ Corporate agitator Ackman tells US to raise FDIC insurance limit to shore up confidence
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, March 29 (Reuters) - Billionaire investor William Ackman who spent years telling corporations how to perform better is now taking on the U.S. government by calling for higher insurance limits to safeguard the banking system at the height of a banking crisis. Ackman, who runs hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, sent a letter to his investors saying the FDIC should raise its $250,000 per account limit days after U.S. regulators took over Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, triggering a crisis in U.S. regional banks. In his annual letter to shareholders he amplified a message he has been blasting for days on Twitter. "Banking is a confidence sensitive business," and regulators' conflicting public statements have "reduced investor, business, and consumer confidence in our banking system" he wrote. Ackman's investment firm's Pershing Square Holdings portfolio has returned 25.1% per year over the last five years, handily beating its broader stock market index which gained 9.4% a year during the same time.

With markets increasingly volatile, BMO Capital Markets thinks investors should turn to a two-way strategy that provide returns and protection at the same time. The S & P 500 gained more than 1% last week, but it wasn't a smooth ride. Given this uncertain backdrop, BMO suggests relying on a dual-tiered approach encompassing growth at a reasonable price strategy, or "GARP," and a dividend growth barbell. The firm compiled a list of outperform-rated stocks that fit into the GARP or dividend growth themes. CF Industries and ConocoPhillips were also highlighted by BMO under their dividend growth strategy.

☆ First Citizens to buy large chunk of failed Silicon Valley Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Photo illustration, the Silicon Valley Bank logo is visible on a smartphone, with the stock market index in the background on the personal computer on March 14, 2023, in Rome, Italy. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co will buy Silicon Valley Bank's deposits and loans, the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said Monday, just over two weeks after the biggest U.S. banking collapse since Lehman Brothers. The deal includes the purchase of approximately $72 billion of SVB assets at a discount of $16.5 billion, but around $90 billion in securities and other assets will remain "in receivership for disposition by the FDIC." It comes after the regulator transferred all SVB deposits and assets into a new "bridge bank" earlier this month in an effort to protect depositors of the failed lender. "The 17 former branches of Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, National Association, will open as First–Citizens Bank & Trust Company on Monday, March 27, 2023," the FDIC statement said Monday.

☆ Banks aren’t out of the woods yet and neither is the economy. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Markets seesawed severely this week when two of the US economy’s most prominent leaders gave seemingly contradictory statements on the health of the banking sector. But the evolving banking crisis makes it unclear if the central bank’s best-laid plans will pan out. The tumult in the banking sector is an outcome of the central bank’s fight against inflation, says José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers and former economist at the FDIC. And while containing the banking turmoil will be important for markets and the economy, it’s only one part of a complex equation. To be sure, it’s unclear how the banking sector will hold up, especially as a slide in shares of Deutsche Bank on Friday adds to global concerns.

☆ UBS says it's 'time for quality' with recession near. 10 stocks to buy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Investors should turn their attention toward quality stocks as market volatility persists and a recession becomes more likely, UBS said in a note this week. Because of this, UBS thinks stocks are likely to remain volatile, and investors should turn to quality names to ride out the storm. UBS highlighted four stock baskets that investors should turn their attention to, including one titled "Time for quality." Bank of America is another "time for quality" stock on the UBS list, which highlights earnings per share growth and profitability. Other stocks that made UBS' list include Merck , American Express, Oracle and Lockheed Martin.

☆ The Fed hiked rates further but Wall Street is already pointing to tighter conditions on the ground
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Jason Ma | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Between fighting inflation or the bank crisis, the Federal Reserve leaned toward the former. Wednesday's move comes despite the bank crisis, which previously led investors to price in a series of Fed rate cuts starting this summer. Indeed, Wall Street has started pointing to the facts on the ground when it comes to financial conditions. The banks are still tightening credit conditions and … non-bank lenders are as well," he told Bloomberg TV hours before the Fed meeting. Billionaire investor Mark Mobius says he is "very, very skeptical" of investing in bank stocks.

☆ This fund for socially conscious investors offers stability during volatile markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

There's a socially conscious fund that's providing some stability at a time when broader market volatility reigns supreme — and rates continue to rise. The Invesco Floating Rate ESG Fund (AFRYX) last year shed just 2.25% on a total return basis, per Morningstar. In other words, the lion's share of the fund is in short-term bonds that have floating interest rates. Relative stability Morningstar said the fund has returned mixed results during periods of market stress, though it has performed better in recent years. Many senior loans are illiquid, meaning they can't always be sold quickly or at a fair price.

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